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McIlroy to block out rivals at the Masters

Rory McIlroy is determined to block out his rivals at the Masters © PA Photos

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Rory McIlroy has claimed he will not be distracted by what his rivals are doing when he tees it up at the Masters next week.

McIlroy will have huge attention on him, having infamously thrown away a massive lead on the final day of last year's iteration. He went some way to exorcising those ghosts with a brilliant victory at the US Open, but the meltdown at Augusta last year is still a hot topic of debate.

The Ulsterman feels he paid the price for focusing on his rivals rather than setting himself a goal to aim for.

"One of the worst things I did was just trying to stay ahead of everyone else," McIlroy told europeantour.com. "Instead, I maybe should've had a number in my head, like getting to 15-under. That way, you have a target, and that's all you're thinking about.

"You're not thinking about Charl [Schwartzel] making eagle on three, and you're not thinking of Tiger [Woods]. You're not thinking about all these guys you're trying to keep ahead of. All you're thinking about is that target of 15-under, and that's something that I've learned from and something I've tried to put into practice since.

"So it was a big mistake of thinking too much about what everyone else was doing, instead of just concentrating on myself and setting myself a score. Because when you do that, it focuses your mind. In this game you have to be very selfish, and especially in situations like that. You can't let your mind wander and start thinking about what anyone else is doing."

McIlroy was pleased with how he responded to his Masters nightmare, which he has admitted was a "big crossroads" in his career.

He said: "Last year's Masters was definitely a defining moment for me. It could've been a crossroads in my career. I could've done what I did on Sunday at Augusta and let it affect me and let it get to me, and maybe go into a slump, or get down or feel sorry for myself.

"But I had enough good people around me not to let that happen. It was a big crossroads for me in my career, and I was able to go down the right path and put things right by winning the next Major. All I wanted to do was put myself in that position again just to see if I could handle it better - and I proved to myself that I could."

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